Barnes Family Papers

Barnes Family Papers

Barnes Family

90-727

18.00 linear feet

1880-1985

Literature and Rare Books

Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries, Hornbake Library, College Park, MD 20742. Tel: 301-405-9212, Fax: 301-314-2709, Email: askhornbake@umd.edu

The Barnes family papers consist of the papers of Djuna Barnes's grandmother, Zadel Barnes Gustafson (1841-1917), her father, Brian Barnes (1865-1934) (born Henry Budington, but also known as Wald Barnes, Wald Gustafson, Brian Eglinton Barnes, and Harold Barnes), and her half-sister Muriel (b. 1899) and half-brother Duane (b. 1902). Zadel Barnes was a journalist, poet, and women's rights activist, and her papers consist of poems, a short story, two scrapbooks, correspondence which includes a letter from John Greenleaf Whittier, and legal documents. Brian Barnes was an amateur poet and composer. His papers comprise the bulk of the Barnes family papers and consist of numerous literary works and musical scores, as well as correspondence, artworks, and miscellaneous items. The papers of Duane and Muriel Barnes consist of four postcards from Djuna Barnes and miscellaneous items. The Barnes family papers also contain ninety-one family photographs, spanning four generations of the family, and sixteen photographs of artworks produced by Brian Barnes and his father-in-law John Faulkner. A collection of thirty-four books owned by Barnes family members and ranging from 1846 to 1973 has been transferred to the Marylandia and Rare Books Department.

This collection is open for research.

Barnes Family Papers, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.

Photocopies of original materials may be provided for a fee and at the discretion of the curator. Please see our Duplication of Materials policy for more information. Queries regarding publication rights and copyright status of materials within this collection should be directed to the appropriate curator.

This collection is PROCESSED.

Processed by Ann Horn in 1990, Eugene Walsh in 1993, Jodi Bunnell in 1994, and completed by Ruth M. Alvarez in August 2001. Revised by Michael Yates, March 2006.

This guide is a re-drafting of a guide produced by Ann Horn in 1990 and a revision of one prepared in 1993 by Gene Walsh. The first guide does not describe the processing undertaken at the time of acquisition, although some notes of changes remain within the collection itself. For example, much of the music was grouped by the composer in titled casings. These groups provide the basis for much of the music's present order. The covers were photocopied and placed within the envelopes containing the beginning of each group. Notes on these photocopies state: "Because of the conservation problems inherent in the cardboard cover casings of these materials, it was deemed better to dispose of the covers and retain the information on a photocopy."

In 1994, the guide was completely re-arranged, with new series and subseries headings, but the folder-level arrangement of the collection itself was not substantially changed. In general, primary headings previously designated according to type of item, such as "Manuscripts/ Typescripts," or by size of item were changed to fall under the individual author or owner, since the overwhelming majority of items in the collection are by or of Brian Barnes. The original guide provided overly detailed item-level descriptions. These were discarded in favor of simpler, more general descriptions, with detailed listings moved into appendices. One very significant change made by Walsh is the creation of Series III: Duane and Muriel Barnes. The items in this series had been interspersed throughout the rest of the collection by genre. For example, music by Duane Barnes was grouped under the general category of "Music" overwhelmingly made up of works by Brian Barnes. Likewise, a poem by Muriel Barnes was among the poetry ordered alphabetically, which also consisted overwhelmingly of works by Brian Barnes. Items by, of, or about either Brian Barnes, Zadel Barnes Gustafson, or Muriel Barnes found grouped under the title "Miscellaneous" were removed and placed in the series of these individuals. These include all items, except work papers and correspondence, of Series II, Subseries 3; Zadel Barnes Gustafson's scrapbook, autograph book, and certificate of appreciation; the manuscript and mounted copies of the poems "Her Knight" and "The Love Song of the Wind" by Z. B. G.; and the seascape painting by Muriel Barnes. The photographs of artwork were separated from the rest of the photograph collection, which is mostly composed of group and individual family portraits.

In the latest revision, books were moved into their own series, Series VI: Books; they were formerly subseries of Series I, II, and III, with ownership documented by inscriptions. The subseries were then completely reorganized: "Manuscripts" were retitled "Literary works." The broad "memorabilia" categories were broken up as appropriate, separating out literary works, legal documents, memory books, and correspondence. In Series II: Brian Barnes, a number of subseries were created: literary works, music, art, correspondence, and miscellaneous.

Other changes of order include moving the poem "Boy of Mine" by Rita A. Walsh from a folder of alphabetically arranged poems to Series V: Miscellaneous with other works by individuals not of the Barnes family. Two stories by Brian Barnes, "Brian's Own" and "Kinks," formerly grouped in one folder, were separated, as there was no evident reason for that placement. Two poems written by Zadel Barnes on brown paper were placed with her other poems, rather than with memorabilia. Individual pages of Brian Barnes's work notes, previously placed primarily among items of poetry, were removed and placed with Series II, Subseries 1; most of these items are not obvious references to the works with which they were previously grouped, but they do reflect Mr. Barnes's writing process. The music was restored to its original order, as indicated by the information on the photocopied covers that once enclosed it; formerly, many pieces belonging in The Red Pavilion Series were intermingled with the miscellaneous music.

A photocopy of a typed untitled poem marked "for Fanny" was removed from the files of poetry, since it is not authored by Brian Barnes, and placed in Series II, Subseries 5, with Brian Barnes's miscellaneous items. And a half sheet of music entitled "Off She Goes" with the note "copied by ? Barnes" (possibly "copied by T. Barnes") was removed from the files of Brian Barnes's music and placed with his miscellaneous items. The handwriting is obviously not his, and a note from the original guide states that it was found in his "Record" book of manuscript poetry.

The photograph collection was completely reorganized by subject and made into one series, with family photographs at the beginning of the series and photographs of artwork at the end. The photographs were arranged by subject and re-numbered. Because of the re-numbering, several items had to be removed from their black box frames; the items this affects have been noted in Appendix XV. Clippings of Duane Barnes's hair, formerly inside photo #5's black box frame, were moved to an envelope for preservation. All photographs were arranged in new Mylar sheets, with some exceptions for size, and arranged in a box. The two extant negatives were placed with their corresponding photographs.

In 2006, the photographs were rearranged and the subjects renamed.

The entire collection was placed in new acid-free folders and boxes, with some items enclosed in custom-built enclosures.

EAD markup created using EAD database in Microsoft Access. Markup completed by Michael Yates, March 2006.